Finance ministers from India's states will on Monday consider cutting sales tax on jet fuel to 3 percent nationwide to help airlines facing large losses due to rising fuel costs, the civil aviation minister said.

Sales taxes are fixed by states without reference to the federal government, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) is taxed by between 4-28 percent across the country.

Jet fuel makes up about 45 percent of an airline's operating costs, and the benchmark domestic price of ATF has risen nearly 46 percent since January to above 66,000 rupees ($1,540) a kilolitre as the cost of crude oil has surged to record highs above $130 a barrel.